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It’s an age old battle of the species, made famous in books like the mouse based Redwall and cartoons like Tom & Jerry. This time however, the mice and cats are getting far more prepared for battle… they’re getting fully clad in armor.

The work of artist Jeff De Boer, each of these intricate pieces of miniature armor has the look of a human equivalent from humanities past. Like stepping into a cat & mouse history museum, we see armor based on examples from medieval europe, some which look like it came from ancient Greece and Rome, and even examples of classic Samurai form. De Boer has extensive knowledge of ancient armor – which is not too surprising when you note the careful attention to historical accuracy (despite being for the wrong species). Asked how much time his outstanding work takes to create, De Boer had this answer:

“Someone once asked a famous painter how long it took to complete a painting. His response was “25 years.” It is not just the amount of time it takes to actually build a piece, it is also the years of work needed to attain the necessary skills and tools. I have always been able to work quickly and with few mistakes. Still, it does take time to make a mouse or a cat. Some silver mice can take up to 20 hours to build and another 10 hours to polish, and we haven’t even made a base for it yet. Some mice are less complicated or have different finishes, thus taking less time to build. With this in mind, I would say that a mouse will take from 10 to 40 hours to make. As for cats, the same thing applies, but as you go bigger, things simply take longer. A cat will take from 50 to 200 hours.”

You can see more in-depth information about his work – including pieces which are far larger than these – at jeffdeboer.com.